A criminal investigation into the death of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, launched Wednesday after New Mexico authorities found the couple and one of their dogs dead in their Santa Fe home.
Detectives believe that the circumstances surrounding the death of Hackman and his wife, a classical pianist, are suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation. Officials confirmed no external trauma was seen on either Hackman or Arakawa, and the case remains open pending autopsy and toxicology results.
In a search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, officials revealed that Arakawa’s body was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet. Hackman was also found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
Former NYPD cold case investigator Joseph Giacalone questioned the color of the skin on the decomposed bodies, which wasn’t noted in the search warrant affidavit.
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“Was the house really hot? Did they have a lot of clothes on? The heat can get the bodies into those stages faster,” Giacolone said. “You have different stages that you look for, like the liver mortis, which is the purple-ing of the body, and what we call the dependent areas you could tell by how long somebody has been dead. This is all approximate stuff.”
He added, “How long have the bodies been there? You can generally determine this based on the stiffness that you see. So, from an investigator’s standpoint, there are clues. This is something, ultimately, the medical examiner or medical legal investigator will weigh in on. But detectives generally have a good idea about what they’re looking at.”
When two Santa Fe County patrol deputies arrived at the scene, they walked to the front of the residence and found the front door ajar. They did not observe any signs of forced entry into the home, according to the warrant.
After officers entered the residence, they immediately observed a bathroom to the left of the front door. The door to the bathroom was opened, and they discovered the body of Hackman’s wife lying on the floor.
An orange prescription bottle was also found near Arakawa. The prescription bottle appeared open, with pills scattered on the countertop.
Former forensic death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan spoke about the ongoing investigation on “America Reports” Thursday.
“We’ve heard about pills being scattered about, and pills being scattered about and pills being ingested are completely different,” Morgan said.
Morgan said he was also interested to know more about the space heater which was found nearby Arakawa’s body, in addition to a test for the carboxyhemoglobin levels.
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“Not just on Mr. Hackman and his wife, but also, I would imagine, somebody involved in veterinary medicine will also attend to this dog as well, to see if there is any carbon monoxide in their system regardless of what the fire department says about what was there and what wasn’t there,” Morgan said.
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“You have to be very thorough, very painstaking in this case. They’ll do full-body X-rays, they’ll do exhaustive external examinations before they ever do a full autopsy.”
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Dr. Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner of New York City, forensic pathologist and Fox News contributor, explained that authorities are likely waiting for a toxicology report which would include testing for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“It looks like they died of some kind of toxicity,” Baden said. “I think carbon monoxide is the first thing they have to look for in the autopsy because if it’s carbon monoxide in the body, it wouldn’t go away.”
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Baden explained that carbon monoxide is “so tightly bound to red blood cells, that it’ll stay there for years.” He also noted a major indication of carbon monoxide poisoning is “the color of the skin.”
“A pink color of the skin makes it obvious right away that it’s carbon monoxide poisoning, but in a decomposing body, you couldn’t see that color very clearly,” Baden said.
With regard to the mummification process, different variables can come into play, including weather. Baden said the process can happen anywhere from a few days to a week or so due to higher temperatures.
Authorities most likely didn’t note any skin changes due to the decomposition stages of the bodies. “The decomposition really changes the color of the skin,” Baden said.
Questions still remain about how two of the dogs survived without their owners to care for them. It’s unclear how long Hackman and Arakawa had been dead when officials discovered their bodies, but the search warrant affidavit indicated their two dogs were “healthy” when authorities found the animals.
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Maria Dello, a dog trainer and nutritionist, explained to Fox News Digital that the German-Shepard breed would never harm their owner, especially under these circumstances.
“They would protect them. You know, these dogs, they would die for you,” Dello said. “They’re such loyal companions. They live for their owners.”
The deceased dog was found near Arakawa’s body in a closet of the bathroom, but two healthy dogs were also on the property. One was running loose, while the other was seen near Arakawa’s body.
“If I had to speculate, the one that died was probably elderly,” Dello said. “They’re tough dogs. They’re used in the military.”
During their investigation, the sheriff’s department did not discover any visible trauma. They have not ruled out the couple being victims of a double homicide, suicide, accidental death or natural causes.
Dello noted, “You can’t live with three German-Shepards and someone enter your house – wouldn’t happen.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed with Fox News Digital separately that the gas company and fire department additionally responded to make sure there were no toxic fumes that would endanger the deputies during their search.
The New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation.
